Pencil eraser attachment.



y E. G. BALCH. PENCIL E APPLICATIO RASER ATTACHMENT.

N FILED SEPT 13.1917

Patented May 28, 1918;

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WIr/1158858 EBEN G. BALCH, OF NEWBUBYPORT, MASSACHUSETTS.

PENCIL ERSER ATTACHMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 28, 1916.

Application led September 13, 1917. Serial No. 191,158.

To all @hom it may concern.'

Be 1t known that T, EBEN G. BALCH, a

' citizen of the United States, and a resident of Newburyport, in thecounty of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new andlmproved Pencil Eraser Attachment, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to stationary and has particular reference tolead pencil attachments.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide a novel form or type ofattachment for lead pencils including a rubber eraser of unusual lengthand adaptability for use for a long eriod of time.

More de nitely stated my invention has lfor its purpose to provide anattachment adapted to be applied to any ordinary pencil and comprisestwo main rigid parts, one movable relatively over the other and inconnection with which is employed an eraser held by the relativelymovable part so that a comparatively 'short length of the eraser isexposed for use, but which when worn down is adapted to be again exposedby movement of the movable member.

With the foregoing and other objects in view the invention consists inthe arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described andclaimed, and while the invention is Vnot restricted to the exact detailsof construction disclosed or suggested herein, st'ill for the purpose ofillustrating a practical embodiment'thereof reference is had to theaccompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate thesame parts in the several views, and in which- Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a pencil complete having my improvement attached thereto;

Fig. 2 is a vertical central sectional view of the attachmentdisconnected from the pencil;

Fig. 3 is a plan', view indicating especially the form of the sleeve ormovable member of the attachment; and

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the relatively stationary member.

Referring now more definitely to the drawings l show my improvement ascomprising a relatively stationary cap member 10 adapted to be applieddirectly upon the end of a encil 11 remote from the point 11 thereowhere it will be held removably by friction. This cap member has twodistinctly novel features namely the external screw thread l0 extendingfrom one end thereof to the other, the other surface being otherwise ofcylindrical form but having a limiting flange 12 at its inner or lowerend. The other main novel feature of the cap is shown especially in Fig.4 and comprises a plurality of spikes or spurs 13 struck and bentupwardly at right angles to the plane of the end 14 thereof. These spursare preferably all struck upwardly and outwardly from the center of theend 14 whereby each is formed preferably with a relatively sharp point13 as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4. Thus it will be seen that acruciform slot 15 is left in vthe central portion of the disk or end 14.

The next main element of my invention to be observed is the sleeve 16,this being a tubular member of practically uniform cross sectionthroughout and having an inner threaded surface 16 coperating or adaptedto coperate directly with the thread 10 of the cap. The sleeve,therefore, is adapted to be screwed down over the cap until the innerend of the sleeve abuts against the outer edge of the flange 12. Theouter surface of the sleeve may be of any suitable form or construction.I find for the purpose of simplicity that a smooth cylindrical surfaceis suitable, but any portion thereof may be formed polygonal for twopurposes, first, to facilitate the rotation of the sleeve upon the cap,and, secondly, to prevent the rolling of the pencil along a desk ortable especially if the pencil be round. For this purpose T provide acollar 17 shown as hexagonal in form and secured in any suitable mannerto the central portion of the sleeve.

The eraser indicated at 18 may consist of a stick of rubber, or itsequivalent, suitable for the erasing of pencil marks'as is well known.This eraser is preferably of a size substantially equal to or slightlylarger in diameter than the cap 10 so as to fit with a moderate degreeof friction within the internally threaded sleeve 16, the resiliency ofthe eraser serving to permit the movement of the sleeve thereover duringthe practice of the mvention, but with a fairly snug fit between theeraser and the sleeve, the former being held fairly snugly during theera-sing action of the device.

A device of the character indicated in Figs. 1 and 2-is designed to bemade and put manufacture adapted for interchange and.

'and the sleeve isnot dentally with respect to the cap. The three uponthe market at a retail price of a few cents and constitutes a distinctarticle of use on any number of pencils one after another. By this lmean to say that thetwo main parts l() and 16, which may be made ofmetal or some other suitable destructible material may be usedindefinitely on any number of pencils and when one eraserv wears downafter a considerable period of time another may be inserted into thesame sleeve. The rubbers themselves may be provided on the market asdistinct elements for use in my improved attachment at an exceedinglylow cost. When a new eraser is applied to the sleeve and cap the inneror lower end of the eraser is impaled upon the disk 14 so that the spurs13 enter the end of the eraser and hold the same from rotation so thatwhen the exposed end of the eraser wearsdown the operator may by'givingthe sleeve one or more turns provide a fresh exposure for the eraser forsubsequent use in a well known manner. It will thus be seen that theeraser is reliably held in place in the sleeve for all purposes liableto move acciparts remain in adjusted position permanently with no partsto rattle, wabble or become separated from the rest. By the use of thisattachment a person is assured of practically inalways having a suitableeraser for the pencil. The attachment furthermore in addition to beingof an ornamental nature and possessing the important features of utilityjust referred to, serves to give material additional length to a shortpencil rendering the' same serviceable for 'a considerable length oftime,v an item of much importance in View of the fact that so manypencils are discarded and Wasted While yet of a serviceable length. Y

My improvement obviously may be applied to pens or other Writing devicesby appropriately varying the character of the eraser element.

I claim: l

The herein described pencil attachment comprising a cylindrical capthreaded exteriorly and adapted at its inner endto lit onV a pencil andhaving spurs projecting lengthwise from its outer end and within thecircumference of said cap, a cylindrical sleeve threaded interiorly itsfull length and* screwed at its inner end on said cap and a cylindricalrubbereraser screwed mto 4and closely fitting the sleeve with" the outerportion of said sleeve projecting at its outer end beyond the sleeve andhaving its inner yend entered longitudinally by the end spurs of thecap, as shown and described.

u EBEN G. BALCH.

